Chapter 209 |
[Entrance Exam (5)]
«The exam question is simple. You just need to touch me standing here.»
Shin Seoyoung shrugged her shoulders as if it was not a difficult task.
In contrast, the surface she stood on was heavily undulating, the wind was howling, and flames and lightning appeared and disappeared.
«Noona, aren’t you going too far? To ask someone who’s taking the academy entrance exam to be able to move through that, is that even possible?»
Even freely moving on the surface of the water required significant training.
Among the students applying to the academy, there would be very few who could achieve such a feat.
«Well, that’s the point. It’s supposed to be the most challenging test. But if you can solve the problem I set, an A+ is guaranteed, so don’t worry.»
«But it’s not a problem that they set to be solved, so naturally, if you solve it, you’ll get an A+.»
«…Fine.»
Eunha swept his hair aside. Although he complained about the odd difficulty level of the problem, he had no intention of giving up.
He aimed to enter the academy with high grades.
So, he had to solve the problem set by Shin Seoyoung.
One way or another, he was going to have to solve the questions.
A thousand steps
It’s not impossible.
For anyone applying to the academy, it might have been a difficult problem, but for Eunha, it wasn’t.
«…Fast.»
Shin Seoyoung watched Eunha evade the tree branches shooting up from the ground without any effort, occasionally repelling them with a touch of his mana-infused hand.
Fast.
And efficient.
She couldn’t rule out the thought.
«I wonder if he can escape this one?»
Shin Seoyoung continued to move her Mana Resonance without pause.
She cast all kinds of spells to prevent him from touching the surface of the water.
Every time, he circled around the lake, dodging the attacks effortlessly.
His eyes, like a wolf stalking its prey, were fixed on her no matter the situation.
What is he planning…?
A sudden counterattack.
Seoyoung frowned at the attack that came from beyond.
It was powerless. It was just mana scattered by his hands.
In the meantime, he changed direction and made a straight line across the lake.
What on earth is he thinking?
Shin Seoyoung cast flames and lightning while expanding her magical barriers to block his path effectively.
That’s Advanced Control Technique…!
Isn’t it impossible?
Their gazes met.
Shin Seoyoung was amazed as she saw the figure emerging from Eunha’s shadow.
Advanced Control Technique.
It was a skill where a player, who had reached a certain level of expertise in mana manipulation, interfered with someone else’s mana control.
Although it was a technique taught at the Player Academy, there were hardly any players who used Advanced Control Technique so casually.
She couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched him distort the rushing flames and lightning, deflecting them away.
Now she realized he was only distorting the magical spellwork covering him.
Flames and lightning were shocked and bounced away.
It was the pinnacle of efficiency.
Impressive, but it’s still impossible.
Even if I can’t use my full strength like before, I can handle this much!
Shin Seoyoung designated the entire lake and expanded her spellwork.
With her internal mana, this much wasn’t difficult.
The water rippled like waves, and dozens of water streams followed him closely, trying to catch him.
How will you avoid this?
She looked at him with an intrigued expression, acknowledging his skills.
If the mana in his body had reached the level of a caster, she would have made him <The Seed>, even if it meant quitting as an academy instructor.
☆
Examinee number 635, Bae Subin.
As soon as she heard the explanation about the third-round test, she decided to find the most challenging instructor.
She believed that there was no problem she couldn’t solve, no matter which instructor’s question it was.
…I regret the second round.
While wandering around the academy grounds, she recalled the morning exam.
The second round where she had to avoid rubber balls.
When she first took the test, she had thought of avoiding the balls like the other kids.
However, the kid who had spread light over the entire rubber ball during the mana examination had deployed a barrier.
Fueled by competitiveness, she ended up deploying a barrier like a kid.
And she lost.
Subin couldn’t maintain the barrier until the end of the exam.
It wasn’t because she lacked mana; it was because the longer it took, the harder it became to concentrate.
This time, I’ll get a better score than that kid.
Subin, aiming for the top spot in the academy entrance rankings, considered her a rival.
«…Huh?»
It was when she was loitering near the student cafeteria.
Subin noticed a group of kids sitting under the shade of a tree, drawing circles and talking.
Among them, she found the kid with the ribbon tied to her hair who had defeated her in the second round.
«Don’t overthink it. Instead of conscious effort, focus on strengthening your eyes using your sense of the mana permeating the surroundings.»
«…I’m sorry; it’s difficult for me.»
«It’s okay. I was like that at first too. Now, what color do you see?»
The child with the ribbon tied to her hair was instructing the other kids.
She couldn’t understand it.
Did she not care about getting good grades in the exam?
The academy was merit-based. Depending on the admission score, students could enjoy various benefits.
Yet, was she teaching these kids here?
«…What are you thinking?»
Unable to contain her curiosity, Subin approached the child with the ribbon tied to her hair.
The child who had lost her focus while teaching the others noticed her entering the shade and blinked.
«Huh? What?»
The child with the ribbon tied to her hair tilted her head, looking clueless.
Her cheerful smile was genuinely cute.
Subin suddenly had that thought but quickly pushed it aside in her mind.
«Aren’t you going to take the exam? What if you don’t get a good score?»
«Well… If something like that happens, I’ll make up for it in the fourth round; it’ll be okay.»
«…»
Subin was speechless.
The fourth round was supposed to be the most challenging.
Yet, the child with the ribbon tied to her hair was talking as if it would be easy.
Is she ignorant or just naive?
In any case, she decided not to pay attention to the child with the ribbon tied to her hair.
It was a relief that her competitor was falling behind on her own.
«Hey.»
«What?»
As she was about to leave to return to the exam venue, Subin glanced at the child who had come out of the shade.
The child with the ribbon tied to her hair rummaged through her pocket and extended a bag containing a few cookies.
«Eat this and cheer up! I hope we can see each other in the academy.»
«…Food is prohibited in the exam hall.»
«Really? Even if it’s leftovers from earlier?»
«Probably.»
What a strange child.
Subin quietly accepted the cookies offered by the child with the ribbon tied to her hair and ate them secretly.
The cookies were delicious.
Maybe it was because of her mood, but she felt lighter.
Feeling better, she decided to focus and look for the roaming proctors.
«Oh.»
She should have asked for her name.
Subin looked around the tree where the child with the ribbon tied to her hair had been.
It was too far to go back and ask for her name.
In any case, she would meet that child again at the academy if the child’s scores were high enough.
She could repay her with cookies then.
The exam was the priority.
She dug through the mana rising like smoke, and in a corner of her mind, she found mana imbued with so many colors that she couldn’t count them.
Why did she find it only now?
While people around her hadn’t noticed, she discreetly examined the surroundings and quietly headed towards the lake.
«…»
When she arrived at the lake, she couldn’t help but gasp at the sight before her.
A young boy was engaged in a battle with the proctor.
The boy moved freely over distances impossible for normal footsteps, avoiding the spells cast by the proctor.
He deflected lightning, extinguished flames, cut through whirlwinds, and entrusted himself to the wind, leaping into the sky.
«No, this is impossible.»
Subin analyzed her situation coldly.
With her own power, she couldn’t perform actions like the boy.
She wanted good grades, but she didn’t want to end up tearing her limbs apart in the pursuit of them.
She needed to think about the next exam.
She couldn’t exhaust all her strength here.
«Right, I didn’t see anything.»
She also somewhat wanted to avert her eyes from what was happening in front of her.
In her standards, those two were not human.
So, if her best wasn’t enough, she would settle for something less.
Subin decided to turn away from the lake without any lingering regrets.
«Receiving an A grade won’t depend on just that. Other proctors will probably present more challenging problems than that.»
The third round exam was quite lengthy.
There was still time.
Subin adjusted her plan to find a proctor somewhere on the academy grounds.
«…But who is that guy?»
She should have seen his face.
Her intuition as a top contender told her that it would be better to remember him.
«…No, it’s okay. Anyway, I’ll probably meet that kid at the academy.»
Subin scolded herself.
Both the child with the ribbon and the child by the lake—why were there so many competitors?
Having finished her self-reflection, she resolved to focus on the exam once again.
☆
«…Noona, don’t you think you’re being too hard on me? What do you want me to do in the next test?»
Eunha, having just finished the exam, lay sprawled on the ground.
His clothes were soaking wet. It was understandable since he had been running around on the water’s surface.
«Sorry, I got carried away having fun…»
Shin Seoyoung awkwardly offered a smile.
She realized she had gone too far, especially after she had approached him with the mentality of dealing with industry people from the middle onwards.
«Really…, that was too much. What would we have done without these?»
«Food is prohibited in the exam venue. Drinking is prohibited too.»
«Then, noona, did you really act as a proctor for this exam?»
«…Eat it secretly. I didn’t see anything.»
Eunha took a cookie from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.
He was lucky the cookie wasn’t wet.
Although it was a small amount, he absorbed the mana-filled cookie and felt the mana melting into the world.
This was the test that had brought him so close to using the nameless gift.
There was a risk that using the gift might cause a decline in abilities during the fourth exam.
He needed to quickly recover his mana.
He concentrated on absorbing external mana.
«By the way, Eunha, your skills are really…. If that’s the case, why did you join the Player Academy?»
«I don’t think I’ll be able to be a player until I leave the academy.»
«The third year of the Higher Academy should be enough for you.»
«Are you telling a 13-year-old kid to hurry up and hunt monsters?»
«I can’t believe you’re only 13 years old.»
Eunha didn’t respond to her words.
In truth, he didn’t disagree with what Shin Seoyoung said.
Since anyone could apply to High Academy’s third year regardless of age, there wouldn’t have been a big problem if he had applied.
He believed in himself, confident that he could obtain player qualifications within a year.
But that wasn’t the right path.
There were limits to becoming strong alone.
In the world, there were many things one couldn’t do alone.
Moreover, the monsters he had to kill from now on weren’t creatures a single person could defeat.
Furthermore, to protect Baekryeon, he needed the strength to resist hostile forces.
That’s why he gave up on entering the third year of High Academy.
To capture the people he would meet at the academy and strengthen them.
Additionally, to find the roots he hadn’t discovered yet.
«So what? What’s my score?»
«I’m not telling you that, kid.»
«During the second exam, I at least knew my approximate rank.»
«…A+. Originally, I came out with guerrilla tactics to surprise the test-takers. The proctors thought no one would be able to solve it.»
«But I did?»
«That’s why. Because of the relative evaluation, there’s only A+ for you.»
«Well, I’m relieved then.»
It was a pleasant sound to hear.
«Oh, by the way. I forgot to mention this. The fourth exam will be held in the basement auditorium of the lecture hall.»
«Come to think of it, you said you would give me information about the fourth exam after I passed the third exam…. What’s the fourth exam?»
«It’s a labyrinth expedition.»
«The one my sister took as an entrance exam?»
«Well, it’s more of a challenge than that…. Here, take this one first. You’ll need it for the test.»
«What is this?»
Eunha took the card from Shin Seoyoung.
The card, the size of a regular playing card, had a sheep drawn on it.
«I’ll explain the content of the fourth exam from now on. Eunha, you’ll be in charge of the sheep role when the fourth exam starts.»
«Sheep?»
Eunha furrowed his brows as if to ask what she meant.
«Yeah, follow my lead. Baa, baa.»
«…»
Seeing Shin Seoyoung playfully make fun of him, Eunha scrunched up his face.